1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to message notification systems configured for sending a notification message to a subscriber having received a message.
2. Description of the Related Art
The evolution of the public switched telephone network has resulted in a variety of voice applications and services that can be provided to individual subscribers and business subscribers. Such services include voice messaging systems that enable landline or wireless subscribers to record, playback, and forward voice mail messages. However, the ability to provide enhanced services to subscribers of the public switched telephone network is directly affected by the limitations of the public switched telephone network. In particular, the public switched telephone network operates according to a protocol that is specifically designed for the transport of voice signals; hence any modifications necessary to provide enhanced services can only be done by switch vendors that have sufficient know-how of the existing public switched telephone network infrastructure.
For example, existing messaging systems such as voice mail messaging systems rely on a proprietary notification system that has limited adaptability to expanded notification schemes. For example, the simplest type of notification system involves a message waiting indicator on a telephone connected to a private branch exchange (PBX), where the PBX asserts a message waiting indicator signal in response to receiving a proprietary command from a connected voice mail system. A more advanced system may initiate a page to a subscriber""s pager indicating reception of the stored voice message. In each of these cases, however, the notification process necessarily relies on the proprietary features of the PBX and the associated voice mail system.
Wireless based communications system have voice messaging systems that notify a wireless subscriber via his or her wireless telephone of a stored voicemail message. Such notification systems are beneficial in cases where the subscriber was making another call on his or her wireless telephone, or if the subscriber""s wireless telephone was previously unavailable due to being turned off or outside a service area. Such wireless based communications systems, however, rely on the proprietary features of the wireless indications system in order to notify the wireless subscriber.
Short Message Services (SMS) have been implemented in wireless telephone communications systems as a way to send a message to a subscriber""s cellular phone to notify the subscriber that he or she has received a new voice mail. A messaging server, also referred to as a Short Message Service Center (SMSC), is configured for receiving a notification message from a messaging source according to Short Message Peer to Peer Protocol (SMPP). The messaging source may be, for example, a voice mail system, a paging system, or an e-mail interface resident within the wireless telephone communications system. The SMSC, in response to receiving the notification message from the messaging source, transmits a short message to the cellular phone based on the destination telephone number specified within the notification message. However, this arrangement still provides only limited flexibility in enabling different sources to send a notification to a cellular phone. Hence, the above-described arrangement still lacks sufficient flexibility and scalability to enable messaging subscribers to select the means for notification.
Unified communications systems are under development as a way of enhancing messaging services for users such as wireless telephone subscribers. A disadvantage of unified communications systems implemented as enhanced versions of the voice mail system, paging system, or e-mail interface resident within the wireless telephone communications system is that such implementation requires detailed knowledge of the proprietary protocols associated with the voice mail systems. Hence, such implementations are available only from switch vendors having knowledge of the proprietary protocols.
Use of a unified communications system implemented independent of the existing proprietary voice mail systems enables service providers to use scalable and distributed systems using recognized communication protocols. Hence, the service providers may use such unified communications systems across multiple platforms, independent of protocol, for storage of various types of messages, for example voice messages, facsimile, and e-mail stored in a centralized messaging store. However, the problem still remains that there exists several different types of notification devices, such as a pager, a phone indicator light, stutter dial tone, facsimile, and telephone. Moreover, for each message that enters a messaging store, one or more subscribers may need to be notified over one or more different notification devices. Finally, the different types of notification devices have respective notification protocols, increasing the complexity in designing a notification source for sending a notification to different types of notification devices.
There is a need for an arrangement that provides an open standards-based architecture for delivering notification for unified messaging systems over a broad range of notification devices.
There also is a need for an arrangement that provides a scalable notification architecture that can provide notification to subscribers via subscriber-selected devices according to subscriber-selected notification requirements.
There also is a need for an arrangement that provide a common, open standards-based messaging format that enables any application to generate or interpret a notification message that may be used to send a notification to a broad range of notification devices.
These and other needs are attained by the present invention, where a notification process, configured for receiving notification messages for respective subscribers from messaging sources according to a prescribed open protocol such as Internet Protocol, accesses subscriber profile information from an open protocol-based subscriber directory based on the received notification messages. The notification process determines, for each received notification message, the subscriber""s notification preference based on the accessed profile information, and selectively outputs a notification delivery message according to a prescribed open protocol to at least one notification delivery process based on the subscriber""s notification preference. The notification process may have access via the prescribed open protocol to multiple notification delivery processes, each configured for outputting a notification to a subscriber""s notification device according to a corresponding device protocol. Hence, subscribers may be notified of events according to their respective preferences, including subscriber device type, or time of notification. Moreover, the notification process generates the notification delivery message using selected portions of the notification information and subscriber information based on the notification device type, providing a common format for device specific notification messages. Hence, each notification delivery process can receive device specific notification messages according to a common format from the notification process or another external process.
One aspect of the present invention provides a method in a server. The method includes obtaining a notification message having been sent from a notification source according to a first open network protocol, the notification message specifying at least one notification recipient and notification information describing a first message having triggered the notification source to send the notification message. The method also includes accessing a subscriber directory, according to a second open network protocol, for subscriber attribute information specifying subscriber notification preference for the specified at least one notification recipient. A notification delivery message is generated that includes (1) a message information part having at least a selected portion of the notification information based on a notification device type specified by the subscriber notification preference, and (2) at least one subscriber information part that specifies attributes for notifying the corresponding at least one notification recipient based on the notification device type. The notification delivery message is output, according to a third open network protocol, to a selected corresponding one of a plurality of notification delivery processes for delivery of the selected portion of the notification information according to a corresponding device protocol of the notification device type. The obtaining of the notification message, and the accessing of a subscriber directory for subscriber notification preferences using open network protocols provides centralized management of notification delivery, enabling the supply of a notification delivery message to selected notification delivery processes based on respective device protocols. Hence, a notification source such as a voice messaging system can send a notification message in order to initiate notification delivery according to a user-selected notification preference such as an e-mail message during business hours, a cellphone during specified meeting hours, or a pager during evening hours. Moreover, the notification preference may specify multiple notification devices, independent of the nature of the notification source. Hence, a subscriber may establish notification preferences for any type of notification device, including selected notification based on the notification source.
Another aspect of the present invention provides a method in a server. The method includes detecting a notification event for at least one notification recipient having a corresponding preference for at least one notification device type, and generating for each notification device type, a notification delivery message. Each notification delivery message includes (1) a message information part having selected notification information based on the notification device type, and (2) at least one subscriber information part that specifies attributes for notifying the corresponding at least one notification recipient based on the corresponding notification device type. The method also includes outputting according to an open network protocol, for each notification device type, the corresponding notification delivery message to a corresponding selected one of a plurality of notification delivery processes for delivery of the selected notification information according to a corresponding device protocol of the notification device type. Hence, any server having access to determine the notification device type for a notification recipient can generate a notification delivery message to be output according to an open protocol to a selected notification delivery process for delivery, eliminating the necessity of implementing device-specific protocols by the server.
Additional advantages and novel features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned by practice of the invention. The advantages of the present invention may be realized and attained by means of instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.